Divine Beast Ascension

Chapter 508: The Highest Bidders

Oli had said that in all fun but noted the serious tone under Eeole’s laugh. ‘... You would’ve actually made such an exchange?’

‘Without question, so long as the other bidders dare go that high.’

Eeole’s immediate answer sent chills down Oli’s spine.

‘However, we can make do without it. I have some items on my person that should make due in addition to what you have on hand...’ added Eeole.

Two new bids appeared at the same time, forcing the auctioneer to take an extra moment to look them over before describing them to the audience. But the moment Oli’s window lit up, the man’s smile perked up slightly. ‘We have a new highest bidder! One hundred thousand gold and two early-king items, a core and a helm!”

All three of the other offers faded but a new offer popped up from the very first bidder.

“Hmm... This bid is equal to the other, offering one hundred fifty thousand gold, the peak-perennial armor set, and an early-king core!” stated the auctioneer.

.....

But the moment the value was matched, the image of Oli’s bid changed. Another item had been added, stunning the crowd.

“Again, this bid is the highest! Adding a second early-king core!”

The most shocked and surprised of everyone present were those inside Oli’s booth. Yeter and Fulkar were amazed, but it only took a few moments to remember the shadowy man watching over Oli for the time being. Then they both felt much more at ease apart from being so close to king grade items.

Freel, Trenk, and Trantor, however, were absolutely astonished. They were so far gone that words couldn’t depict their confusion or voice their thoughts. All they did was sit in shock about what seemed to be coming from Oli’s void ring, not knowing that Eeole was the one actually presenting the items alongside Oli’s gold.

Suddenly, the bids started to appear more quickly. Three new bids popped up together, and the first bidder threw their new bid up only seconds after that.

“Give me a moment,” stated the auctioneer, looking over the four new bids. “... We have two new highest bidders! One bidder has presented one hundred fifty thousand gold paired with a full set of peak-perennial armor, two early-king cores, and an early-king saber! The other bidder has also put up one hundred fifty thousand, along with two early-king cores, and a low-elder core!”

Most other bids vanished as the bidders prepared the next round of bids. But Oli’s remained. Yet something peculiar caught everyone off guard. All of Oli’s gold vanished from the image instead of adding more. But what seemed like a strange blunder instantly shook the knowledgeable cultivators of the crowd to their divine cores.

A few stacks of black coins replaced the bags of gold. One hundred and fifty shiny black coins, with veins of gold inside each one, sat beside the two-early king cores and the early-king helm. Then, a third early-king core appeared as well, now offering three different essence types.

“Again, we have a new highest bidder!” blurted the auctioneer, astounded to see Oli’s booth put forward such a bid despite not directly inviting them to participate in the day’s action. After all, who would be carrying such valuables on them without knowing that they’d be bidding on the fossil in the first place? “To our great shock, our new highest bidder has offered an early-king helm, three early-king cores of varying essence types, and one hundred fifty oxite coins! Incredible!”

All other bids disappeared in an instant as the private bidders had to recreate their offers from scratch.

‘... Is oxite that valuable?’

‘Definitely. It’s a currency that every quadrant will always bargain to get their hands on,’ Eeole answered.

‘And you’ve let me just carry it around without telling me?! What if-‘

‘You do realize that of all people, I’m the one to most likely kidnap you... again?’ joked Eeole. ‘Besides, I need you to hold it and be used to having it. I’m not sure if I’ll be as useful while we’re in Virulent City. With him there, it’s much harder for me to hide and sneak around. So there’s a chance that at the quadrant’s auction, I won’t be able to join you as I can now.’

Oli felt that was a very important topic to discuss, but he also knew it wasn’t necessary at the current moment. So Oli let the topic change and watched as a competing bid appeared.

“We have a new highest bidder!” shouted the auctioneer, not wasting a single second. “The true bidding war begins! There’s no gold offered whatsoever but it was replaced with something far more valuable! Refined magicite! Such an amount would be worth a minimum of two hundred thousand gold! They’ve also paired it with two early-king cores and two low-king cores! Astounding!”

Squinting, Oli was surprised to see such an offer. ‘What’s refined magicite?’

‘It’s a material that can be used in weapon crafting to amplify the wielder’s essence output. Typically, it’s only used in high-king gear or greater.’

Oli paused for a moment as another question appeared in his head.

But Eeole answered without needing to hear it, ‘No. Your territory never had the resources to refine your magicite. That’s why I had Vloz remove only a small, negligible portion of the ore from the mine. If he had taken anymore, then Kartzal would’ve found a way to get his hands on it. Perhaps in the future Iron Territory will be able to refine it, but not for quite a while.

‘Now, as for our bid...’

A couple of seconds passed before Oli’s bid changed once more. One hundred more oxite coins appeared on the table, now totaling two hundred and fifty. Also, to the three early-king cores and early-king helm, a low-king core was added.

“Once more, the highest bidder has changed!” applauded the auctioneer.

But the other bid was also changed immediately.

“Oh my! They’re the highest bidder for sure! Adding more refined magicite and a low-king longsword!”

Soon, the top two bidders began to stand out among the crowd of private booths, at least for the moment. And their bids were growing far beyond anything anyone on the lower floors had predicted.